Master Gardeners to host workshop March 8 at CCBC

By Peggy AdamsFor The Times

Monday

Feb 3, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 3, 2014 at 12:15 AM

Spring is just around the corner. From weeds to parasitoids, the 11th Annual Beaver County Master Gardener Smart Gardening Workshop on March 8 features a variety of presenters and topics that will inspire and motivate you to get into your garden this spring.

We will learn about “Weeds: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” from Fayette County Master Gardener Audrey White. Sandy Feather, Penn State Extension educator in ornamental horticulture in Allegheny County, will help us to understand “Biological Control: the First Line of Defense.”

Everyone has a cure for problems in your garden. Most of the time that remedy is not treating the real problem — only the symptom. Many times the remedy is actually making the problem worse, and there have been instances where the remedy is dangerous to the plants and gardeners alike. Barrett explains which remedies work and which should be discarded.

A well-informed gardener can be happy with his accomplishments in the garden with a few simple guidelines. Working with and understanding the natural growth of plants will help immensely to get the results you want without the extra back-breaking work. Barrett discusses ways to make your garden better with ideas you may have never considered.

White will teach us ways to identify those pesky weeds that we home gardeners have all encountered. We will also be shown ways to manage and remove weeds from our gardens throughout the growing season.

Feather will focus on predators, parasitoids (insects that hatch within a host, feed on it during the larval stage, and become free-living when the host dies), and pathogens (agents that cause disease, especially living microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi).

The Smart Gardening Workshop will meet at the Community College of Beaver County Learning Center in Center Township, and includes a continental breakfast, lunch, prizes and a silent auction. The workshop is from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fee is $45 for pre-registrants; $55 for walk-ins.

Lunch and informational packet are not guaranteed for walk-ins.

Register for the Smart Gardening Workshop online at http://extension.psu.edu/gardening/events by Feb. 28 (check or credit card accepted). Space is limited and last year’s event sold out before the deadline.